


latte art

by neville



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, Coffee Shops, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, Pre-Slash, Trans Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 06:49:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20652962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neville/pseuds/neville
Summary: There's a new barista at Steve's usual coffee place.





	latte art

Steve notices things. 

He doesn’t know when it starts - he feels like it comes all at once, his transformation from freshman dumbass to wise old man senior, but by the time he hits college his perception is at some kind of bizarre all-time high, and so from the moment he pushes open the door of the coffee shop on his way into campus, he notices that it’s not the usual barista. The usual barista is Sam Wilson: Steve strikes up a banter with him every morning, and Sam has taken to swiping through a staff discount for him, just on a friendly basis. But it’s January, it’s his first visit to the shop since Christmas break, and that is  _ distinctly  _ not Sam. 

Obviously, a drastic change in barista would be immediately noticeable, but Steve notices from the moment he walks into the shop, before he even turns the corner and sees the counter. He can tell just from the change in the music, from the difference in atmosphere; it’s not a  _ bad _ change, because this atmosphere is still nice, but it’s just not Sam’s. 

The music is all old, records from the forties and fifties, all swing bands and Glenn Miller. It’s a change from Sam’s usual hip-hop, and something veering a lot more towards Steve’s own tastes. 

As Steve turns the corner, he sees the barista, the man responsible for the change in his pace: and Steve almost stops, actually, because he’s not expecting it. He’s expecting someone different, but the new barista is soft, with dark hair swept up into a bun; he’s young, too, probably a student, and in his hair he’s wearing some kind of clip designed to look like a leaf. Steve wonders for a moment if it  _ is _ actually simply a leaf tucked in. The barista’s name tag reads  _ Bucky _ . There’s a trans flag pinned to his apron. There’s something about him that just feels  _ gentle _ , even though Steve thinks he can see years of pain in Bucky’s eyes.

“Hey,” Steve says. “You’re new.” 

“Sure am,” says Bucky. “Are you Steve? Sam told me about you. Said to give you a discount.” 

“And I keep telling Sam he doesn’t need to give me one, so don’t.” This earns a smile from Bucky, and Steve grins instinctively as a reaction; that smile is  _ infectious _ . “I’ll have a hazelnut latte, thanks. And where  _ is _ Sam?” 

“He got promoted. He does the afternoon shift now.” Bucky takes Steve’s KeepCup - Steve’s is one of those artsy ones, clear with a cork-patterned sleeve, and sets about making his drink. The coffee shop isn’t busy at this time of the morning, so Steve is free to talk - it’ll get busy in the next hour, sure, but Steve catches it early into its opening hours. “Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I know I’m no Sam, but I’ll do my best.” 

“It isn’t a problem,” Steve says. “The world doesn’t end with Sam.”

“Good to know. Hey, how do you feel about latte art? I’m still starting, but I could have a go at something for you. I’ve been learning to do dogs recently.” 

“Oh, I’d love it if you put a good boy on the top of my coffee. Go for it.” Steve laughs, softly. Bucky’s face screws up in concentration as he sets about to painting his little coffee masterpiece: for a moment, his tongue escapes from his mouth and presses against his bottom lip, and it’s endearing in a way that Steve doesn’t think he could even describe. It’s just -  _ a lot _ , all at once, and Steve realises that his stomach is filling with butterflies. It’s weird, actually. He doesn’t usually crush fast. Or at all. He could count on one hand the number of crushes he’s had in his life. 

He just has a really good feeling about Bucky. 

“Okay. One good boy, for Steve,” Bucky says, placing Steve’s cup down on the table. He’s right: that  _ is _ a good boy, and a surprisingly good dog - he’d definitely downplayed himself. Sam never even bothered to attempt latte art -  _ what’s the point, _ he’d said,  _ if you’re just gonna drink it anyway?  _ “That’ll be a dollar ninety.” 

“Hey, I said no discount.” 

“And I said that’ll be a dollar ninety.”

Steve grins and shakes his head; but he knows already that there isn’t going to be any arguing with Bucky, not really, and so he taps his phone to the card reader and waits for it to beep. “You didn’t have to,” he says. “But thanks. I appreciate it.” 

“No problem,” says Bucky. “I just hope you’ll be back tomorrow.”

Steve looks at him for a moment, and he just can’t help but let yet another smile split his face; he just  _ can’t stop _ , now. He presses a lid on top of his cup, tragically hiding his new foamy canine companion; he’d stay, he really would, but he’s got an early morning class to get to and he insists on not being late if he can help it. So instead, he’s already thinking about tomorrow, too. “I’ll be back,” he says. “Why wouldn’t I?” 

When he takes the first sip of his latte as he heads across campus, he wonders how soon tomorrow will come. 

**Author's Note:**

> hope u enjoyed & thank u for reading !!


End file.
